My birthday (never mind which one!) was last month, which brings me to the subject(s) of today’s post:
What do you do when you receive a gift from someone you really don’t like?
My gut reaction is to simply tell that person I hate him/her and to take that gift and …. but you get the drift, and I’m a polite person. So what I usually do is accept with a gracious “Oh, that’s so thoughtful. Thank you.”
If the gift is something I like, even though I don’t like the giver, I will use it/spend it/whatever, feeling slightly guilty at the time of using/spending/whatever.
If the gift is, like the giver, unpalatable to me, I do one of four things: throw it out, donate it to some unsuspecting charity, store it away in case anyone I know ever has a use for it, or immediately re-gift it.
Which brings me to the next question:
How do you feel about re-gifting?
I don’t know about others, but I personally feel guilty any time I re-gift something. And I always get caught!
A few years back, I re-gifted a restaurant certificate I had received and had no use for. The recipient of my re-gift was my mother-in-law. I knew she often ate at that restaurant and would enjoy the certificate since she is on fixed income. And she was happy to receive it – however, I realized my error when she said in a confused voice, “This is very nice, but why am I getting it from [name of person who originally gave the gift card to me]?”
Of course, that works both ways. My mother-in-law once gave me a set of very nice bed sheets, forgetting that they were the same sheets I had given her a couple of years earlier.
So, the next question, of course, is:
How do you handle your own gift being re-gifted to you?
In the aforementioned re-gifting scenario, I am very proud of the fact that I simply acknowledged the thoughtfulness of the gift without letting on that I had ever set eyes on it before.
I understand, of course, that one of the reasons people re-gift is a desire to show affection or respect, accompanied by a lack of funds. And I’m OK with that.
At an office holiday party years ago, I received a basket made up of obviously discarded candles and bath gels. I use neither. But the giver was a young lady we had only just hired and who had been unemployed for some time. I knew from talking to her that she had suffered serious financial hardships and had no excess money, so again, I accepted the gift with the usual “That’s so thoughtful. Thank you.” And then promptly threw everything away once I got home.
What about people who can afford not to re-gift but do so anyway?
This one really ticks me off. I don’t mind if a family member or close friend gives me something like a gift card that they have received and have no use for so long as they acknowledge that as being the case. I often re-gift store cards and restaurant certificates to my own kids because I know they have little or no money left after making their student loan, rent or mortgage, and car payments.
What annoys me are those people who re-gift simply because they’re cheapskates.
Do you really think that hideous neon-colored plaster naked lady statue is going to look any better in my home than yours? OK, so maybe you do think that (you stuck up, arrogant bitch), but what makes you think I want it in my home instead of yours?
When it works.
As I said, re-gifting of store and restaurant certificates is usually OK with me, provided they’re for establishments I normally frequent.
Before I developed my ulcerative colitis, I often received other people’s cast-off fruitcakes. That was fine with me, too, because I was one of the few people on the face of this earth who actually liked fruitcake.
Is there a point to this post?
Probably not. But if there is, it would be this:
Even re-gifting requires some thought. Don’t just give other people crap you don’t want for the sake of having something to wrap up. Think a little – will the recipient be appreciative of the gift in question and able to use it, or will it likely be re-gifted to someone else, who will then re-gift it to someone else, ad infinitum. If it’s really just junk, throw it out and save the rest of us the grief.
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com .
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Images by: SalFalko, and Chris Piascik, and Kevin Harber, respectively.
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
More Fun With Spam
I think I may make this a regular blog feature, because it’s just so much fun.
There is simply no limit to the odd comments I get from spammers and others, and I feel an irresistible urge to respond to some more of them. Especially in light of having been granted the Maintain-It-Up Award by Oliver C. Damon (Chronicle of a Wayward Son).
Here are some of the stranger comments I’ve received on my blog since I posted “A Word to the Not-So-Wise.” (And I won’t even get into the spam I receive through e-mail!)
(And again, apologies to the appropriate commenter if any of these weren’t, in fact, spam. I realize that some comments suffer in translation, and I try to take that into account when determining what is spam and what is legitimate.)
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Comment:
“You ought to be a part of a contest for one of the greatest blogs on the web.
I am going to highly recommend this web site!”
Response:
Oooo, I love contests! To whom are you going to recommend this web site? I want to be sure not to miss all the emails coming from those recommendations.
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Comment:
“Is it possible to install multiple joomla site on one wamp server?”
Huh?
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Comment:
“This design is spectacular! You obviously know how to keep
a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos,
I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job.
I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented
it. Too cool!”
Response:
Nice try at making me feel so special that I’ll leave the comment in. But just so you know, my blog does not have videos.
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Comment:
“Hi there colleagues, how is everything, and what you want to
say regarding this article, in my view its in fact amazing in support of me.”
Response:
Colleagues? There’s only just me. And why would I support you? I don’t even know who you are.
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“When someone writes an paragraph he/she keeps the thought of a user in his/her brain that how a user can know it. So that’s why this article is perfect. Thanks!”
Response:
Ok, you nearly had me. You left a similar comment a couple of days ago, and I admit I debated on whether it was legitimate then, thinking that perhaps it had merely been translated poorly. But now I see this new comment coming from the same marketing site. Nice try.
***
Comment:
“Just desire to say your article is as astonishing.
The clarity in your post is simply spectacular and i could assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission let me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the rewarding work.”
Response:
The post was about naming my new puppy. Nice try.
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Comment:
“Stunning quest there. What happened after? Thanks!”
Response:
The post was about having my car serviced, not quite what I would call a “stunning quest.” I’m still driving that car, so there is no “after” [knock on wood]. Thanks for your comment.
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Comment:
“This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am in fact impressed to read everthing at single place.”
The post was about responding to spammers. You qualify. Congratulations.
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So, what do you thinks, folks. Would you like to see this as a regular, perhaps monthly, feature on my blog? I’m pretty sure I won’t run out of material any time soon.
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by: Elvis Kennedy, and Luigi Rosa, and Daniele Oberti, and Jolyon Hunter, respectively
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